Blog by Trudy K. Cretsinger

SATURDAY 6-PACK: December 30, 2017

SIX FOR THE YEAR THAT WAS & THE ONE THAT’S COMING

A weekly listing of articles, audio clips, and other tidbits I’ve encountered that seemed interesting, insightful, or otherwise useful …

First up, no one reviews the year with mirthful insight quite like Dave Barry (one of the added perks of subscribing to the Miami Herald just to be able to read Leonard Pitts). Here’s Barry’s take on 2017:

There are reasons editorial cartoonist Steve Sack has multiple nominations for the Pulitzer Prize and has won at least once. Here’s the 42 the Star Tribune pulled from his work this year. Most are related to national events, but a few are local. Some, like the seemingly endless reworking of Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis or the construction-created traffic mess, translate well enough — just substitute local public works and road construction projects. Others, like the Minnesota Lynx winning the NBA title (again!) or Minnesota Public Radio severing ties with Garrison Keillor, were national news stories … but might not have been noticed. The drain plug in the lake is a strictly local story about White Bear Lake, where water levels have dropped precipitously in recent years.

At the end of the year, NPR offers a montage of music from prominent musicians who died during the year. Where else will you hear rap and opera, the most essential of rock & roll and some classic county … along with gospel and show tunes … and??? This is less than 10 minutes and anyone is sure to recognize something.

If movies are more your thing than music, there are all kinds of top movie lists out there this time of year … from best of the year to most likely to contend for Oscars. There’s more than 10 on this list … and not all the films are going to appeal to anyone. However, it covers a wide range of genres — from foreign language to indie flciks and documentaries … dramas to special-effects blockbusters. If you’re looking for what to see when it comes on Netflix or whatever, some titles on this list will appeal to you:

This is topping some lists of news stories from the year … but it wasn’t just a 2017 story. The FBI began investigating Russian activities in the 2016 election during the campaign, including possible links to the Trump campaign. Here’s how it really started. We’ll see where it goes in the coming year …